Santa Monica 13 or SMG is a

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

street gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

located in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

, California, United States. They reside mainly in the Pico neighborhood. Even though Santa Monica 13 is a Sureño gang, they wear their traditional black bandanas. The acronym SM17 refers to Santa Monica 17th Street, which is the gang's primary subset or "clique". They write up "SMG" or "Santa Monica Gang" to show solidarity.

History

The Santa Monica Gang was the first gang to originate on the Westside of

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in the late 1920s, formerly known as the Santa Monica Tomato Patch Gang. They had given birth to all the surrounding gangs in the area. The gang simply became known as Santa Monica 13 and, since the creation of the

Mexican Mafia The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: ''Mafia Mexicana''), also known as ''La eMe'' (Spanish for "the M"), is a Mexican American criminal organization in the United States. Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia did not originate in Mexico, and is entirely a ...

in the 1950s, have been known for their violent ways.

Cliques

The only active clique remaining in the 17th Street gang are the "Pee Wee Locos", "Wallbangin' Graffiti and Gangs in L.A.",

Susan A. Phillips Susan A. Phillips (born 1969) is an American anthropologist and criminologist who works as a professor of environmental analysis at Pitzer College. She is known for research on graffiti, and her books on gangs and graffiti. Education and career Ph ...

, University of Chicago, 2010, web:
Uch6677
and the only active remaining clique of Santa Monica 13 are the "Little Locos". Other cliques have come and gone over time, including the 11th Street Chavos, 17th Street Tiny Locos, 17th Street Locas, 20th Streeters, 21st. Deadend Winos, Midget Locos and the Crickets.

Graffiti

The gang's graffiti includes the symbols "SM" "SMG", "SM13" or "SMX3" and for the 17th Street gang, "SM17" or "SMXVII" plus "SMX7" or "SMXV2st"."Los Angeles CityBeat - Gangster's Paradise Lost." Los Angeles CityBeat, front page. 15 October 2009, web

References

{{Organized crime groups in America Organizations established in the 1920s 1920s establishments in California Sureños Latino street gangs Gangs in Los Angeles Mexican-American culture in Los Angeles Organizations based in Santa Monica, California